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Ep. 38: Ghost Baseball
is the thirty-eighth episode of Dengeki Sentai Changeman. This episode marks the return of the seemingly defeated General Giluke, now in a new form as "Ghost Giluke". Synopsis Hiryuu tries to appease a group of awakened baseball player ghosts who never got the chance to face him. Plot A mysterious, invisible force roams the halls of the Dengeki Base bunk corridors in the dead of night. The only thing marking its movements is the force's occasional leaking of ectoplasm as it makes its way to the room where Hiryuu sleeps. His sleep already disturbed, Hiryuu stirs, perhaps already being aware of the force and its mumbling of threats. The force begins to take a transparent, humanoid state, groaning. It angrily reaches down, attempting to strangle the sleeping man. Jerking awake, Hiryuu calls out to the disturbance, which he plainly sees slithering out of his room. He hops from his bed in pursuit, seeing it vanish. His noisy actions have disturbed the others from their own sleep. Shou and Sayaka coming to groggily see what his problem is, as Mai takes notice of the trail of slime that the mysterious being left behind. Just then, a half-awake Yuuma, not even noticing the others, glides his way to the door of Hiryuu's room, zombie-like, clutching his pillow. "Hey! Hiryuu, do you have any idea what time it is," he sleepily mutters, punching at his door. Hiryuu comes to his conclusion, stuttering in hysterics, "A gh--ghost was here," his words sending Mai shrieking and Yuuma collapsing in fright. Later, in the daytime, a boy's in his room dressed in his baseball uniform. He kneels before the picture of an older boy, his brother, who also wears a baseball uniform. The room is decorated with various trophies and honors, as the boy seemingly prays to the picture for him to hit a home run in the later game. Meanwhile, Space Beast Soldier Doron looks through the window, emitting a mist to the jersey of the older boy that hangs upon the wall of the room, the form of the pictured boy filling it out, utterly shocking the younger boy. "I want to play some baseball," the phantom-like figure says, leading to the younger one to faint in horror upon addressing the figure as a ghost. "I want to see the Dragonball," the specter mumbles, departing. Tsurugi patrols alone on his motorcycle, being intercepted by a flaming baseball that's tossed his way from nowhere. An explosion, and Hiryuu is thrown from his bike, greeted by the presence of the uniform-wearing specter of the boy's brother, appearing out of thin air. Hiryuu shakes his head in disbelief at the sight, his second, separate encounter with a sight unknown, before realizing that the image is real. Demanding to know who he is, the specter menacingly responds, "Hiryu Tsurugi, I've longed to meet you...I've wanted to battle you," he reveals to the understandingly perplexed Hiryuu. Doron watches his handiwork from nearby, as the baseball ghost repeatedly attempts to hit flaming baseballs towards Hiryuu, who dodges at all ends for cover. He tosses a stone to the ghost, it obviously passing through him. Shortly afterwards, Shou and the others meet up with him. Upon their arrival, Doron orders for him and the specter to retreat. They do so, as Hiryuu informs the others that another ghost as appeared, to their confoundment. The five are at the home of the boy, who recalls to them the background of his older brother. "My brother tried out for the national high-school baseball tournament," he solemnly begins. "His dream was to play against you, Mr. Tsurugi. But, he died of an illness. He always said to me, 'It would be good, just once, to knock out a ball pitched by Mr. Tsurugi's Dragonball.' Today...before my eyes, he..." the boy's recalls in astonishment. The others recognize the tragedy of the youth's dream never being fulfilled. Realizing that it truly was a ghost that he's seen, HIryuu begins to wonder if the young man's appearance and contempt for him earlier may be a result of his spirit being in unrest, dying without fulfilling that dream. As Yuuma begins to wonder about Gozma's involvement, the boy interrupts, begging for them to get back his late brother's uniform. "When I grow up, I want to become a baseball player like my brother and you, Mr. Tsurugi, and wear my brother's uniform," he reveals, strengthening Hiryuu's determination. Ahames bows before Bazuu, preparing to explain the odd strategy as she summons forth several ghost players. "These players died without realizing their dream," she explains. "They resent never reaching the tournaments to face Hiryu Tsurugi." Space Beast Soldier Doron continues, "I resurrect them through the uniforms which entraps their resentment, made to attack Hiryuu," she finishes. Bazuu orders her to be certain to obtain her goal. Time has passed and Hiryuu regroups with the others in a park, each remarking their lack of success in spotting the ghost. Just then, Doron leads a team of dead players to attack the five who vanish upon the attack. Ahames and Buuba appear from hiding, commending Doron on a job well done. Just then, Hiryuu and the five reveal themselves, unharmed, from the attack, to Ahames' disdain. "And we're not ghosts," Hiryuu sarcastically flings in Ahames' face. He proceeds, revealing, "We feigned death in order to find the ones behind manipulating these spirits." They battle Hidoras and suddenly, with a flash of lightning, a mist wraps around the feet of the Changeman and Gozma, taking even the villains by surprise. Within moments, they find themselves in a darkened dimension and a mysterious phantom appears, Hiryuu quickly recognizing it as the one he saw in the middle of the night, to the shock of the others. "Vile woman -- Ahames," the grotesque ghost weakly mutters, "will you expel this grudge you placed on me?" Quite taken by surprise, Ahames demands to know the creature's identity. It merely chuckles, as a visibly worried Ahames, begins to place blame on Doron for resurrecting the specter. He denies any involvement, as she strikes him. Just then, the setting mysteriously vanishes and the threatening phantom disappears, as if being pulled backwards into the sky. She orders retreat, while wondering who it was threatening her. Later, the four are consulting with Ibuki in the Dengeki Base about the situation, the ghost that haunted Hiryuu which now haunts Ahames. Everyone's on edge, while Sayaka tries to rationalize the events. Suddenly, a team of baseball players charge into the room, sending the edgy women screaming, knocking Shou over. Overreacting, they're not the ghosts, but merely Hiryuu and members of the Soldier Group in uniform. "Those ghost players were young men who loved baseball. They left this world in disease or accident, without being able to fulfill their goals as baseball players. Gozma cruelly uses this regret for their own purposes," he states, determined to play them a good game and free them of not only Gozma's clutches, but the regret that forbids their souls rest. Tsurugi and the others are in a park, baiting Doron, who calls for the ghost players. They run, leading the ghost players...they eventually catch up to see the Changemen, in uniform, practicing on a baseball field. The ghost players stand, fixated, the boy's older brother realizing Hiryuu's pitching with the Dragonball. Hiryuu holds up a baseball to their view, offering them a game. Something calls inside the players, as Yuuma calls out to them. "Behold, the Dragonball...and the name known around the high-school baseball world as champion, Hiryu Tsurugi," he shouts. "You all wanted to face Hiryuu in the national high-school player tournament," Shou begins. "Now, it's been fulfilled! This is your national high-school player's tournament! You are now standing in your dream Koshien," he beckons, the words which get the players to sprint to the field determined to play. They're having an enjoyable game, the younger boy eventually arriving to watch his brother, as he steps up to the bat. The boy calls out his good-luck wishes through the loudspeaker and the ghost nods. Hiryuu prepares the Dragonball, tossing it...and to the young boy's surprise, his brother's ghost hits it, a home-run! Happily, he calls out, "I did it," running to first. "I hit it, Hiroshi," he says again with glee, circling the bases in joy, continuously calling out to his brother. "I've become a great player," he shouts, reaching home. Just then, he and the other players vanish, leaving their uniforms, the boy again losing his brother. Hiroshi sadly goes out to the field, clutching his brother's uniform, as Yuuma whispers congratulations to Hiryuu on his plan and game. Furious, Buuba and Doron arrive on the field, the Changemen taking their fighting stances. "The game was played with no regrets," Tsurugi insults the beast. "You'll pay for perverting the regret of those players," he threatens, leading the others to change. The Hidoras attack on the field in cleats and with baseballs, the Changeman transforming their Change Swords into bats and fighting the Hidora with them (knocking them out of the park in a home-run, no less). Doron proves evasive, constantly disintegrating and escaping attack, until Dragon spots his weak point. They successfully defeat him. The five are watching Hiroshi play in a little-league game, loudly cheering him on. Hiryuu's among the most enthusiastic. The boy hits a home-run and shortly afterwards joins the five, who hand him a picture of his late brother in honor, the boy speaking to it happily over his success. The five toss the boy up in the air to celebrate his victory.'' Cast * : * : * : * : * : * : *Officer Suzuki: *Officer Shoji: *Officer Watanabe: *Officer Nomoto: *Officer Kikuchi: * : **Star King Bazeu (Voice): * : * : * : * : **Shiima (Voice): * : Guest Cast * : *Satoshi: *Hiroshi: Notes *The main task of the episode involves ghosts who never faced Tsurugi in the baseball tournament of Koushien; yet as stated in episode 9, Tsurugi never made it to the national tournament. DVD releases ''Dengeki Sentai Changeman Volume 4 features episodes 34-44. http://www.toei-video.co.jp/DVD/sp21/changeman.html References Category:Dengeki Sentai Changeman Category:Sentai episodes Category:Written by Hirohisa Soda